It was awarded to the champion shot of the annual South African Defence Force Shooting Championships from 1962 to 1975.

[4][5] The medal was only formally instituted by the State President by Warrant dated 20 January 1965, published in Government Gazette no.

[5][4] From 1962, the medal was awarded to the overall champion shot of the annual South African Defence Force Shooting Championships.

[1][4] The position of the Commandant General's Medal in the official order of precedence was revised three times after 1975, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first upon the integration into the South African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, again in April 1996, when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted for the two former non-statutory forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and again upon the institution of a new set of awards on 27 April 2003, but it remained unchanged on all three occasions.

The Queen's Medal for Champion Shots in the Military Forces was omitted in error from the official order of precedence, as published in Government Gazette no.

[1][8] The bar is of silver and displays the year the award was won on a circular button in the centre.